


Through the Quiet Moonlight, Their Songs Rise

by regrettes



Series: a series no one asked for, but you're getting anyway [1]
Category: The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: F/F, I'll add more tags later, Twilight AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-20
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:20:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21876652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/regrettes/pseuds/regrettes
Relationships: Alyssa Greene/Emma Nolan
Series: a series no one asked for, but you're getting anyway [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1576000
Kudos: 6





	1. Preface

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,

thou shalt not eat of it:

for in the day that thou eatest thereof

thou shalt surely die.

_________

“I’d never given much thought to how I would die- even though I had reason enough in the past few months- but if it were in place of her, of the girl I loved, then it would be a worthy death,” She whispered to herself, knowing that even if it were worthy, a noble cause even, that it was terrifying. There was no way to tell whether or not this was something that she should be doing, but the universe had brought her here, brought her to this moment, for a reason.

Alyssa sighed, looking down at her hands as she looked upon the ballet studio. She remembered it being more joyful, but that could be for one of many reasons. She’d been a child the last time she was here, but she also wasn’t on the run from someone like this when she was a child. This was something new, and terrifying, and she wasn’t sure if it was worth it but her heart told her it was. She’d already left Dee Dee and Tom in the hotel room, both none the wiser to her absence.

She knew that if she had never moved, she never would have met Emma, that this wouldn’t have become an issue. But faced with what lay ahead of her, she couldn’t think of a better way to go. She’d been offered something that she never in a million years would have thought possible, that wasn’t something to scoff at just because the end of it meant she died a little sooner than most.

The hunter smiled in a terrifyingly friendly way as he sauntered forward, his posture way too relaxed for having chased Alyssa halfway across the United States.


	2. First Sight

Driving to the airport with her father was a bittersweet moment for Alyssa. She’d lived with him for years, but now that he’d found Phil he was like a new man. Still the same loving air about him, but it was like he was a lost puppy, following her wherever she went, and Alyssa didn’t want to hold him back from that. So when the option for her father to stay in Florida for a few months while Phil was doing business down there, she offered to rekindle her relationship with her mother. Before heading to the airport, Mr. Greene had insisted that they pick up some essentials for Alyssa. Those essentials boiled down to the only parka that they could find, and a few new pairs of jeans, because there would be zero shorts weather for most of the year in the Olympic Peninsula.

Looking down at her carry on bag, she sighed softly and smiled over how her dad was really trying. She knew that there wasn’t much she could expect, especially after her mother refused to keep coming to see her in San Diego every summer. Her dad seemed to sense how apprehensive Alyssa was in regards to leaving Phoenix, but there wasn’t much that he could do to change her mind. “‘Lys, if you want to stay here, I can stay and just take trips to see Phil. It’s not a big deal,” He kept his voice soft as he loaded her bags into the back of the car. Alyssa knew that the offer was genuine, but she could also see the sacrifice written all over his face. She couldn’t do that to her father, he was so much happier when he was with Phil.

“I want to go,” Alyssa lied. She’d always been fairly terrible at telling lies, but this one had been told so many times in the past few weeks that it was starting to sound almost believable. There was really no way to tell if he believed her, so Alyssa distracted herself by climbing into the front seat.

The ride to the airport was fairly silent, Alyssa spending most of it staring out the window to pass the time. There was a sort of tension in the air that Alyssa couldn’t quite place, but she was sure that it was just because this was something they both knew that she didn’t really want.

“Tell Veronica I said hi,” Daniel Greene sighed, the option for Alyssa to stay behind dying on his lips as he saw her give him a look. He’d stopped outside the airport, neither moving to collect her bags quite yet. They weren’t used to goodbyes, not ones that felt pretty long term.

“Dad, please don’t worry about me,” She urged, opening the door and stepping out, collecting her carry-on after a moment or two. “It’ll be great, I love you. I just know that mom probably already at the airport, excited and waiting.”

They hugged tightly for a minute, Alyssa feeling her heart swell at just how much her father loved her before she collected her bags and began her trek through the airport.

It’s a four-hour flight from Phoenix, Arizona to Seattle, Washington and then another hour to get to Port Angeles. That extra hour had been accompanied by a layover of two hours, where it was more reasonable that her mother could’ve just driven up to Seattle to get her. After her flight to Port Angeles landed, there was an hour drive down to Forks, the most peculiarly named town that Alyssa had ever heard of. The flying wasn’t so much the problem in the brunette’s eyes, it was the hour drive with her mother that worried her.

Mrs. Greene had been as nice as a mother could be about her practically estranged daughter moving in with her with barely a month’s notice. She seemed genuinely pleased with the idea that Alyssa would want to move to Forks in any degree, the divorce had been especially hard on her, but Daniel getting full custody of Alyssa because he had the more stable living environment at the time had been even harder. Six weeks of vacation in San Diego hadn’t been enough for her, even if Alyssa sometimes thought it was enough. They melded together like oil and water, both dancing around the awkward idea of having a mother-daughter relationship without actually saying it outright. Daniel had never been one for the rainy weather of Forks, and Alyssa had made it very clear from a young age that she simply detested the constant rain as well.

As the plane landed in Port Angeles, much to Alyssa’s dismay, it was raining fairly hard. She’d said her goodbyes to sunlight and warmth before she got on her first plane, but the hope of a reprieve from rain had still been in her heart before she touched ground.

Veronica Greene was waiting for her daughter, leaning against her cruiser. Although her first choice of job certainly wasn’t police chief, she loved her job nonetheless, taking it very seriously. Alyssa was glad that her mother enjoyed what she did, but the idea of being driven around in a police cruiser everyday wasn’t one she liked to entertain. It was the main motivation behind her buying a car. Nothing slowed down traffic like a cop, and Alyssa Greene had never been one for the slow side of life.

As Alyssa stumbled out of the airport, her mom wrapped her in an awkward one-armed hug, Alyssa nearly dropping one of her bags as she tried to return it. There was something about hugs from her parents that made her feel off. Her dad didn’t hug her as often as you’d think for how much he hugged everyone else. Her mom on the other hand, was just very standoffish, so when Alyssa got the chance to hug her, neither of them knew how to approach it. “It’s good to see you ‘Lyssa,” Her mom said softly, smiling as she caught and steadied Alyssa, “I’m glad to see you haven’t changed much, how's Daniel?”

“Dad’s fine, it’s good to see you too Mom,” Alyssa said with a soft smile. She wasn’t allowed to call her Veronica to her face, even if it sometimes still threatened to slip out. There was just something about calling her mom that she couldn’t quite find comfort in. Maybe it was the idea that she really hadn’t been much of a mother, but was that really her fault? Alyssa’s dad had full custody, her mom only got the six weeks in the summertime. Maybe she’d wanted more, but didn’t know how to approach the subject. Maybe this would be something entirely new for both of them and calling her ‘mom’ would be easier.

Alyssa only had her two bags and the carry on that held her notebooks and laptop, since most of her clothing was not suitable for the more frigid weather of Washington State. She’d made a note to raid her mother’s closet for oversized sweaters, and to pick up any hoodies she could, knowing that they’d come in handy. There was a specific type of comfort that she could find in the cooler weather that living in Phoenix never allowed her. Her dad had bought her a few outfits, but neither of them really remembered what Washington weather was like, so it came down to just buying jeans and some long sleeve shirts. And the parka of course. She managed to fit everything into the back of her mother’s cruiser, closing the lid and taking a moment to steady whatever anxiety she was feeling before climbing into the front seat.

Once she was strapped into the car, her mother turned to face her with a look that Alyssa couldn’t quite place, “I found you a car for fairly cheap, I know you’d said you wanted to get one. And I think it would be a... good car for you.” Her mother gave a smile, clearly hoping that Alyssa would be excited about it.

Alyssa on the other hand, was suspicious about the way the words ‘good car for you’ sounded. She knew that it could have just been left at ‘a good car’ and that tipped her off that her mother may have gotten her some sort of bulletproof military car. Alyssa might have been clumsy, but not clumsy enough to need something like _that_. “What kind of car?” She asked warily, eyes narrowing as she looked over to her mother.

Her mother started the car, suddenly finding herself laser focused on that task as she spoke again, “Well it’s a truck actually, a Chevy.” She continued to focus on the road, pulling out of the parking lot and into the dull traffic of the town.

“Where did you find it?” Alyssa asked, still skeptical of where her mother got the truck, and how bulletproof she might have made it.

“Do you remember Leah Monae down at La Push?” She seemed a little hesitant as she asked, not sure if her daughter would really remember since it had been a good six or seven years since Alyssa had spent a summer up in Forks. Alyssa shook her head no, clearly confused by the name, “She used to go fishing with us at the lake during the summer.” That still didn’t seem to trigger any sort of memories in Alyssa, but that was no surprise to the brunette. She hated everything about fishing, so she tended to block out memories involving it or anything else that she found painful or uncomfortable. “She’s in a wheelchair now,” Her mother continued when Alyssa made no attempt to respond, “so she can’t drive it anymore and she offered to sell me it for fairly cheap.”

Alyssa looked over her mother for a moment before deciding that she did in fact have a question about the car. “What year is it?” The words sat in the air for a few moments as her mother visibly deflated, clearly dreading the question at hand.

Pursing her lips, she glanced over for just a moment before letting her eyes focus back on the road, “You know, Leah’s done a lot of work on the engine- inside it’s only a few years old, really...” She trailed off, hoping that Alyssa would drop the subject at the vague answer. Her daughter however, had no plans to do so.

“When did she buy it?” Alyssa asked, pulling one leg up to her chest, foot resting on the seat as she kept her gaze firmly on her mother. There was no way for this to not go her way, Alyssa was just as hard headed as her mother, even if Veronica Greene refused to admit it.

“She bought it in 1984, I think, but really it runs like it was made last year,” Her mother continued to focus on the road, but her fingers were now nervously tapping on the steering wheel, practically wilting under her daughter’s look. The woman could take down hardened criminals, but broke under the glare of a seventeen year old.

“Did she buy it new?” Alyssa asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked out at the road. She’d decided to spare her mother for the time being from her glare, not wanting to kill the poor woman on the first day.

“Well, no. Not exactly, I think it was new in the early sixties... or the late fifties at the earliest,” she mumbled, looking a bit sheepish at the admission. Alyssa knew that there was nothing wrong with cars that old, but it wasn’t her dream car.

“V- Mom! I don’t know anything about cars. What if it breaks down? I couldn’t fix it, and I can’t afford a mechanic. I know you’re sheriff, but I- you couldn’t either. Those guys are expensive,” Alyssa rambled, thinking about all of the problems that could arise from having a car that old and little to no interest in learning about cars. She’d need to find someone to befriend that knew about them, just in case.

“Alyssa, I promise, the thing runs great. They don’t make them like that anymore,” Her mom argued, clearly a little apprehensive at her daughter’s despair over the potential of paying for a mechanic, “And even if something happens, I’m sure I could find the money to help get it fixed. But I doubt that anything will go wrong.”

Alyssa took a moment to contemplate ‘The Thing’ as a nickname, a villain name for a car that would potentially become the bane of her existence. “How cheap is cheap?” She asked, still looking out the window instead of at her mother, knowing that she couldn’t exactly compromise on the price aspect. She didn’t have a lot of money to her name, and she’d have to get a job if the car was too much.

“Well, honeybee, I kind of already bought it for you. As sort of, a homecoming gift? I just wanted to start off your being in Forks right, so I could make sure you’re happy here,” Alyssa saw as her mother looked over to her with a hopeful expression, clearly worried that she’d throw a fit about the gift, or about the idea of being happy.

Alyssa furrowed her brow, clearly confused by the concept of getting a free car like it was her sweet sixteen and she was on MTV, but she reached over and took her mom’s hand squeezing it gently, “That’s really nice mom, thank you. I-I really appreciate it. I was going to buy myself a car.” Neither of the pair were entirely comfortable sharing their emotions with each other, so Alyssa left off that the idea of being happy in Forks didn’t seem like a possibility to her. As her mother mumbled a ‘you’re welcome’ they fell into silence. Once in a while they’d exchange comments about the weather but for the most part Alyssa was left to look out the window and dread the overall wet feeling that the Pacific Northwest held. It was certainly something that other people might wish for, but Alyssa missed the sun already. It was a shame she’d said her goodbyes to it as she got on the plane to come up north.

She found the scenery beautiful, there was no denying it. But everything was _green and damp_, and no amount of admiration for the aesthetics of a world filled with beautiful trees and moss and ferns could change the fact that it was damp and wet and there wasn’t an ounce of sun on most days. It felt entirely too much like an alien planet, like she’d gotten on a spacecraft not an airplane.

Eventually they reached their destination, a two-bedroom home that the Greene’s had bought in the first few months of their marriage. They might have only been married a year, but in that year they’d made a home out of the off-white two story home. Over the decade and a half since, the house hadn’t changed in the least. The paint had begun to peel, but that was to be expected with the weather. It amazed Alyssa that her mother hadn’t repainted, or at least given the outside a touch up. She supposed her mother had always been very stuck in her ways, so it made sense. Sitting outside of the house that didn’t seem to age was the new-to-Alyssa truck. It was a faded red, with bulky rounded fenders and bulbous cab. It was the type of truck that one would see in old movies, and it was everything Alyssa never knew she wanted. She didn’t think it would be the type of car she’d ever see herself driving, but now that it was in front of her, she couldn’t imagine anything else. It was the type of truck that would withstand a high speed collision, absolutely demolishing anything in its path and coming out unscathed.

“Mom, I love it so much!” Alyssa spun around, hugging her mom tightly as she thought about how much less horrendous her day would be now that she wouldn’t have to choose between riding in the cruiser or walking two miles in the rain. Her mom seemed embarrassed by how giddy Alyssa was over the car, clearly not expecting the response or hug. She mumbled another ‘you’re welcome, I’m glad you like it,’ before moving back from the hug and deciding to grab Alyssa’s things from the trunk.

It only took one trip to bring everything into the house and up to where Alyssa’s room was. It had been in the same spot since the day she was born, the only things shifting were the bed as she grew older, and the addition of bookshelves and a computer for school that had been added since she decided to move up to Forks. The computer was more a stipulation from her dad, along with getting a cellphone so she could keep in touch with him more often than just once a week emails. She still wasn’t sure how often she would call him, but she promised she would. The rocking chair from when she was a baby was still sat in the corner, now plumped up with pillows to become a sort of reading nook. Alyssa made a note to buy more books to fill the shelves, knowing that her few that she stuffed in her bag wouldn’t even fill one shelf. There was only one bathroom at the top of the stairs that she would share with her mother, so Alyssa found herself storing her bathroom things in a little caddy by the door that she could just bring with her when she needed them.

One of the best things about Ms. Greene is that she didn’t hover over Alyssa, at least not where the brunette would sense it. She would never be considered a helicopter parent, which was more than Alyssa could ever hope for. She left Alyssa alone to unpack, going outside to do who knows what in the meantime, something that wouldn’t have happened with Alyssa’s father. He would have been right beside her, trying his best to help but not getting Alyssa’s sense of organization at all. Alyssa felt that it was nice to be alone, not having to look happy about being in Forks. She was able to stare out the window and feel the internal anguish on the outside, a few tears escaping. It wasn’t a full cry fest, that would come later when she was laying in bed, dreading school the next day.

Forks High School held only three hundred and fifty-seven, now fifty-eight, students. That meant everyone knew everyone, and it was a scary change from the nearly seven hundred people in Alyssa’s junior class alone back in Phoenix. That was the problem with moving to a small town, you were immediately new and foreign. Something to be stared at and dissected for every tidbit and anomaly that you had as soon as you set foot on campus. These students had grown up together, as had their parents and grandparents. Alyssa wasn’t one of them, and that scared her.

She looked like someone from Phoenix should, she was already dark-skinned so whether she had a tan or not one couldn’t tell. She looked sporty, even if she really wasn’t, but she didn’t have the personality of someone who grew up in the valley of the sun. She was reserved, she couldn’t catch a ball to save her life, let alone play volleyball like was expected of literally every girl that came from Phoenix. Her hand-eye coordination was that of a small child causing any attempt at sports to be futile and usually get her laughed at by classmates. Her dad had given up trying to find a sport she could play, suggesting she find a clique with the chess club, or debate team, but neither of those really fit her either. Alyssa had to admit that she was worried that if she couldn’t find a niche back in Arizona, what were her chances of finding one here.

Her mother would call her an old-soul, between her favorite activities being reading classic literature and attempting to learn to knit or crochet, it was like Alyssa was an eighty year old woman trapped in a seventeen year old’s body. Alyssa figured that was why she didn’t relate well to people her age, but in truth she hadn’t found anyone that she related to well at all. Her father was her best friend, and even they were never in harmony together. It was as if they were always one note off from perfect, and it used to bother Alyssa. She’d grown used to never quite being on the same page over the years, but something still hit her about being too different. It made it harder to fit in, and it was her main source of fear coming up to Forks. It would eventually be a silly fear in retrospect, but it was a fear she felt nonetheless. Alyssa wondered if her eyes saw the same things everyone else did, or if she was having some sort of matrix glitch and she was seeing an entirely different world compared to those around her. The cause of the glitch didn’t matter to her, all that mattered was the effect. How that glitch she felt in her brain affected how those around her saw her. Tomorrow would be the beginning of that effect.

Alyssa didn’t sleep well, even after she let the tears finally fall. The constant wind and rain on the roof kept her from drifting. It would be something to get used to, but as she finally drifted off after midnight, it was only because the rain had shifted to being a quiet drizzle. The morning brought more sprinkling rain along with a heavy fog, barricading the window outlooking the front lawn from any actual glimpse of the outside world. The sky was forever hidden in Forks, the fog forming a thick bubble that suffocated those who hadn’t grown used to it.

Breakfast was a quiet event for the Greene’s. Mrs. Greene wished her daughter a good day at school, saying to just be herself and that would be enough. Alyssa wasn’t so sure that it would be, but she put a smile on her face and assured her mother that she would be fine. After her mother left to go to the station, Alyssa was left to look over the old, small kitchen and wonder how her mother stayed stuck in the same time period as when her father left. It was obvious to Alyssa that her mother had never quite gotten over her father leaving, but the young girl couldn’t fault him. He was gay and her mother definitely wasn’t his type. They’d painted the peeling yellow cabinets eighteen years ago because her father wanted to bring some light and sunshine into the house, but in the bleak Pacific Northwest that wasn’t looking like something that was possible. So many years down the line it just ended up falling flat and looking sadder then if they’d left the original oak wood unpainted. The only thing her mother had changed was removing the dark paneling on the walls, leaving the kitchen looking less like a set out of That 70’s Show, and more like someone lived there.

Walking into the living room one would be met with pictures of Alyssa lining the wall behind the couch. The pictures dated from the day she was born until around ninth grade, when she’d stopped sending them up to her mother. Alyssa might’ve been embarrassed by them, but it still warmed her heart slightly that her mother would want to keep them up for so long. The living room was a soft blue, which was both soothing and warm. Alyssa didn’t have a lot of time to really dwell on the decor however, just passing through to grab her backpack and head out to her new, or new-to-her, truck. She wanted to get to school with enough time to find where she was going.

The drizzling rain outside had broken up the fog ever so slightly but that didn’t mean dashing through it to get to the truck was any more enjoyable. Inside the truck was dry and warm, despite the cool weather that Washington was known for. It may still have smelled faintly like peppermint and tobacco, but it was clear someone took the time to tidy it up. There were air fresheners sitting on the dash and a surprising lack of dust. Her father’s car had always been strewn with wrappers or dust so having a clean car felt truly like a fresh slate.

Finding the school wasn’t difficult for Alyssa, the town wasn’t huge. The school was like most things in Forks, directly off the highway with nothing else around it. The only markings that it was in fact, a school however, were the sign declaring it so. Without the sign it came across as a series of maroon brick houses surrounded by enough foliage to be considered a forest. There was no feel of an institution, it felt to residential. Alyssa wondered for a moment if that was how the entire town felt, as every building she’d passed felt the same. Nothing shouted ‘big corporate’ or that it was anything more than a mom and pop shop that was doing really well considering the state of the country.

Finding the parking lot, Alyssa reluctantly slipped out of her truck and headed down the stone paved path, praying that she didn’t look like an idiot aimlessly wandering to what she thought was the administrative building. Stepping inside she was met with the same small-town feeling that the rest of her experience had been so far, wondering where the metal detectors and fences were. This school felt more like what a person would see in a mid-90’s TV show, not in 2016. As she stepped inside of the building it felt a lot warmer than the dreary outdoors. The walls were a warm cream color and there were posters lining the walls of the administrative area. All school related of course.

The room itself was cut in half by a long counter filled with miscellaneous paperwork and wire baskets filled with envelopes and forms. Behind the counter were four separate desks, each one for a different secretary. She looked at the little knick knacks on each desk, trying to place them to one of the four middle aged women wandering around the room. Alyssa was finally spotted by a statuesque brunette woman who smiled brightly at her, “Can I help you?” As she stepped up to the counter Alyssa could make out a name tag: _Elaine_.

“I’m Alyssa Greene,” Alyssa said, a little unsure of herself. She felt overdressed, as the secretary was wearing a light purple t-shirt and jeans. She was used to the more upper-middle class feel of Phoenix, rather than small town Pacific Northwest. When she introduced herself the secretary’s eyes lit up, as if she’d been expecting Alyssa. There was no denying that she would’ve been talk of the town, daughter of the Chief’s flighty ex-husband come back after a decade. Alyssa had been expecting it, although she had hoped to be proven wrong. There was only so much she could do to make up for her disdain of being in Forks, especially if everyone expected her to be as flighty as her father.

“Of course,” Elaine said, beginning to sift through the mountains of precariously perched paperwork, finding a folder that probably shouldn’t have been in a pile of what looked to be lunch menus. The woman flipped through it, pulling out a class schedule and setting it on the clear part of the counter between them. “This is your class schedule, the letter by each class is what building it will be in, the number is the room. It’ll be a little confusing at first, but the school is really easy to navigate,” Her tone made Alyssa feel dumb, like she was being talked down to as if she were in elementary school. Maybe some students needed to have it explained in the way Elaine was, but Alyssa figured she would’ve been able to figure it out on her own.

After they’d gone through Alyssa’s classes, Elaine mapped out the best route for each one and gave Alyssa a sheet to have each teacher sign to be brought back at the end of the day. She knew the sheet was to make sure that she’d made it to each class alright, but it reminded her of the time her friend Jules back home had been given probation. He’d had to have each teacher sign a sheet to turn in daily instead of having to go to detention for three weeks.

“I hope you have a good time here in Forks, Alyssa,” Elaine said with a bright smile before Alyssa smiled back and thanked her, beginning to make her way back to her truck. When she got back to the warm, musty safety of her truck she looked over the schedule a little closer. It was more an attempt to memorize her classes so she didn’t have to look too much like a new kid with her nose in her schedule all day, but it was a safe distraction from the idea that this town seemed to want her to stay as much as her mother. It was slightly unsettling, but also heartwarming. She knew that she’d put her mother through a lot by not coming to visit Forks beyond the young age she did, but she couldn’t help but feel gloomy around all of the rain. Now that she was living here, she hoped that the gloom would grow on her.

Making her way back out to her truck, other students had begun filing in, surely filling up the parking lot. She drove around the school to the main parking, finding some stood by their cars, talking to one another,. Others were quickly making their way out of the light drizzle that Alyssa still hadn’t adjusted to. Much to her surprise, and relief, most of the cars that were littered around the pavement were just as old and unassuming as her own. When she’d resided in Phoenix she’d lived in a lower-income neighborhood, one of few in the city itself. Unfortunately, being one of the few lower-income ones meant that it was easy to find a new Mercedes or Porsche in the parking lot.

Alyssa thought that might’ve been the reason she’d refused to drive to school in Arizona. That and the fact she could just as easily have taken public transportation and lived to tell the tale. The nicest car in Forks High School’s parking lot was a shiny silver Volvo, and it stuck out like a sore thumb. She shut off the truck as soon as she pulled into a spot, knowing that the thunderous sound of its engine was still apt to draw her attention. That was the last thing she wanted here. She pulled out the map, staring at it with a blank expression as she made an attempt to memorize it. There was really no way she was going to walk through the halls with her nose stuck in it all day. That would draw attention, which would mean she’d end up having to talk to more people than she really intended to.

It's not that Alyssa was opposed to making friends, it was on her list of things to do. Eventually. The first day of school just wasn’t the day she planned to be a social butterfly and go out of her way to meet people. She needed to find her classes, and figure out how far behind she’d end up being with her studies. Coming into the school year two months in wasn’t ideal for anyone, but AP classes would surely make that even harder. Pulling herself out of the map, she stuffed it and her notebooks into her bag before slinging it over one shoulder and all but throwing herself out of the truck cab.

_ I can do this_ she thought to herself, although she truly didn’t think she believed it. _It’s not like there’s werewolves or goblins here anyway. Just high school students._

Trying to remain inconspicuous Alyssa pulled the hood of her black jacket up, covering her face as much as possible. She didn’t seem to stand out, much to her relief. That didn’t mean people didn’t notice her however. When you’re a new student at a school the size of Forks High, people are bound to notice when someone joins them.

As she rounded the corner into the cafeteria, building three was the easiest to spot, the white placard with the number three painted on it stuck out like a sore thumb on the brick building. Her breathing quickened as she reached the door, anxiety filling parts of her lungs she knew were reserved for air. Swallowing the lump in her throat she took a deep breath and followed two unisex bright yellow raincoats through the doors.

The classroom was small, minuscule really in comparison to classrooms in Phoenix. The people just ahead of her stopped to hang up their raincoats, so Alyssa took a moment to do the same before surveying them and then the room around her. One was a brunette with pale skin, but not porcelain white like most of the town was. The other was a brunette with tan skin and soft features. Alyssa let herself look over both of them for just a moment, thankful that at least there were a few people who were not as pale as new fallen snow, so she wouldn’t entirely stick out.

She slid up to the desk, handing the average height, heavier set man her slip to sign saying she found the class just fine and on time. The nameplate on the teacher’s desk read ‘Mr. Saperstein’ which Alyssa wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to say out loud without making a fool of herself. She tried to look anywhere but his face as he read her name, but the slight gasp he gave brought her attention to it. She wasn’t sure that his gawking was encouraging for her stay in Forks, causing her to flush slightly. It was times like this she was thankful for her darker complexion, it meant she didn’t look like a tomato in front of the entire class. Relief washed over her as she was sent to the back of the classroom without an introduction. She didn’t think her classmates would stare at her if she was all the way in the back, but as she made her way to the seat she saw the collective head turn, all eyes focused on the new girl.

No one’s gazes seemed particularly judgmental, although some were very much leering more than just studying. Alyssa kept her focus on the reading list in front of her, hoping it would prevent her from feeling the sets of eyes on her. It made her skin crawl, but she had sort of been expecting it. The list covered all of the basics: Chaucer, Faulkner, Bronte and Shakespeare. Alyssa had read nearly every book on the list either for a class she’d taken back home, or for fun in her free time. She wondered if her dad would send her the folder of her old essays, just to save herself the trouble of having to go through it all over again. She knew he’s probably consider it cheating, but the comfort of having read everything on the list meant that Alyssa would be bored during her rereads or when she was writing the essays.

_At least it means I have an excuse to reread Wuthering Heights again, _Alyssa thought, chuckling to herself as the bell rang to signal the end of class. She began to pack up her added papers when a gangly boy with choppy brown hair leaned across the aisle to talk to her. “You’re Alyssa Greene, aren’t you?” He looked at her in a way that reminded her of a golden retriever, and as endearing as it was, it wasn’t what she expected. He seemed like the overly helpful nerd type, which meant he’d be a little harder for her to shake off. “Where’s your next class?” He asked, Alyssa shrinking into her seat as everyone within a three seat radius turned to face them. She wished she could melt away, not wanting this many eyes on her this soon again after the start of class.

His question however caused her brain to blank, meaning she had to reach into her bag to find the schedule. Furrowing her brow she studied it for a minute, “Uhm, US Government and History with Glickman. In building six.” She looked up at him, a little relieved when she noticed less people were paying attention.

“I’m headed toward building four, I could show you the way if you’d like? No pressure. I’m Kevin by the way,” His name was added as if an after thought to get her to trust him more. Definitely the over helpful type, but Alyssa couldn’t help but smile at the offer.

“Sure,” she decided, standing and shouldering her bag as they began to head toward the front of the classroom to grab their jackets. They threw up their hoods to shield themselves from the rain, which had picked up. The sound of the rain hitting the pavement soothed some of Alyssa’s nerves, and conveniently muffled their conversations from anyone trying to eavesdrop, which Alyssa swore people were trying to do with how close they were behind the pair. Anything to get the scoop on the new girl.

“So,” Kevin started, sliding his hands into the pockets of his jeans as they walked, “this is a lot different from Phoenix, huh?”

“Very,” Alyssa chuckled, pursing her lips as a droplet hit her directly in the eye. She could’ve sworn that she had her hood up far enough to block her face.

“It doesn’t rain much there, does it?” He was clearly trying to make the conversation last longer. Anyone who knew about Arizona’s existence knew that rain was nearly non-existent. She applauded his determination however undesired it was on her end.

“Three or four times a year at most. Phoenix gets more rain than places like Yuma, but we still don’t get a lot,” She supplied, shrugging and glancing around as students watched the pair walk through. She wondered to herself if it would always be like this.

“Wow,” Kevin looked genuinely surprised as Alyssa looked over, which somehow didn’t surprise her. He felt like the human embodiment of a puppy, and if she were honest with herself, it might’ve been growing on her slightly. “What must that be like?”

“Sunny, can’t you tell? I’m burnt to a crisp, ” Alyssa chuckled with what could only be described as a shit eating grin. She quickly started praying that they got to one of their buildings soon as Kevin studied Alyssa apprehensively. It was as if clouds and a sarcastic sense of humor didn’t quite mix. She was sure after a few months she might forget how to use sarcasm, although her mother didn’t seem to forget after nearly twenty years of living in Forks.

The pair found themselves back in the cafeteria before heading to the south buildings near the gymnasiums. He walked Alyssa directly to the door, despite the building being clearly marked, “Well, good luck. Maybe,” Kevin paused, thinking about what to say before he spoke again, “Maybe we’ll have some classes together.” He sounded hopeful, and Alyssa couldn’t help but wonder if maybe she hoped they would too. She gave a gentle smile before slipping inside.

The rest of the morning passed in much the same manner as the first class she had. Her Trigonometry teacher, Mr. Oliver, forced her to give a formal introduction to the class. She knew she would’ve hated him anyway, math wasn’t her strong suit, but that didn’t start them off on the right foot. Stumbling through the words she barely got through it with her dignity before scurrying back to her seat in an attempt to not draw any further attention to herself. That was ground to a halt as she tripped and nearly face planted into one girl’s desk.

After a few classes she began to recognize faces, those who were braver and more diplomatic than the rest. They’d introduce themselves and offer to walk her to class, like the girl that sat beside her in both Trigonometry and Spanish. She offered to walk Alyssa to the cafeteria for lunch, saying how she was welcome to sit with them. Alyssa figured that it was probably a better option than sitting by herself and looking more ostracized than she already felt. The girl, Alyssa couldn’t remember her name for the life of her, was an inch or two taller than her five foot five self. Her high pony and curls definitely made her seem more than just a few inches taller, and Alyssa found herself drawn to look at it more than anything as the girl talked and talked about teachers and classes. Alyssa didn’t think any of it was particularly important so she didn’t try to keep up with what the girl was saying.

Alyssa soon found herself at the end of table full of the nameless girl’s friends who all were talking animatedly amongst one another. She was introduced to all of them but couldn’t remember their names for the life of her. The boy she’d met during her first class, Kevin, was there and waved at her from the other end of the table.

It was there, sitting amongst a group of strangers she was attempting to make conversation with, that she noticed them for the first time.

A group of five students who seemed to posses other worldly beauty.

They sat in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where Alyssa was sat as possible, which meant she would’ve missed them if not for her utter boredom in hearing about shoe shopping from a few of the girls at the table she was at. The five weren’t talking to each other, they sat in complete silence with untouched trays of food in front of them. It was odd, and something about it drew Alyssa in. She also noticed how they didn’t gawk and stare at her like every other student in the school had done all day. The knowledge they weren’t paying her any attention meant she felt quite a bit safer staring at them without them initiating a conversation that she didn’t want.

None of the anomalies in the way Forks High School had greeted Alyssa were what drew her in and kept her attention.

None of the five looked anything alike. Of the four girls one was petite, barely over five feet tall from the looks of it, with a short blonde bob. Something about how she looked around the room unsettled Alyssa, but she shook it off as she examined the rest of the group. The next was dark skinned, almost darker than Alyssa herself, with beautiful curls framing her face. A pang of something hit Alyssa in her chest as she felt an urge to go talk to the girl, whether it be through solidarity of being not porcelain in a town like Forks, or something deeper she couldn’t tell. She ignored the feeling as she turned her attention to the third girl. This one was olive-skinned and just as breathtaking as the previous two. Her full lips formed a bored pout as she looked blankly out at the cafeteria.

The final two in the group looked like they could be the most related out of any of them, but the similarities stopped at the surface level. The only boy of the group had untidy brown hair curling slightly at the edges of his face. He looked the most interested in what others in the lunchroom were doing, but Alyssa wasn’t sure if it was real or if her eyes were just playing tricks on her. As her eyes landed on the final of the girls it felt as if the air around her was suddenly non-existent. Her features were softer than the rest, but not by much. Blonde curls framed her face, an untidier bob then the shortest of the group. She also had the darkest purple circles under her eyes out of the group, as if she hadn’t seen a moment of sleep in weeks.

Despite all of their differences, Alyssa couldn’t help but wonder why she felt they all also looked exactly the same. None of them looked well rested, and their angular features, aside from the second blonde, and airbrushed beauty all seemed like something someone would only see in a fashion magazine. They looked fake, as if they were creations by some post-production crew and they hadn’t quite gotten to making the rest of the room match quite yet.

None of this was why Alyssa couldn’t tear her eyes away however.

As she stared at their faces, so similar yet so different in every way, she couldn’t help but imagine they were the faces of the Angels sculpted in old religious text. She found herself drawn back each and every time to the softest of them all, wondering how it was physically possible for someone to seem that perfect, yet unkempt.

They were all looking away from each other, from other students and anything that someone would usually find themselves focusing on. They looked both too bored to care about anything and completely checked out as if patients in a psych ward. Alyssa watched as the smallest of the group rose with her untouched tray, sealed soda and unbitten apple not moving a fraction of an inch in a movement that Alyssa was sure should’ve shaken them even slightly. She crossed the room quickly, as graceful as if she were walking on air. It was a light dancer’s step and Alyssa couldn’t help but stare as she dumped her tray and made her exit, her attention then turning back to the rest of the table, who still sat unchanging.

“Who are they?” She asked the girl from class, eyes never leaving the table of strangely beautiful people.

She looked up to see who Alyssa meant, although Alyssa figured she probably knew who she meant. There hadn’t been any students she’d found intriguing so far, and if everyone else found these five as out of the ordinary as she did, it would be no surprise. As she looked at the table, the softer one looked up looking at the table for a brief moment, her dark eyes only making eye contact for a brief moment before darting away as if to not be caught showing interest. Alyssa didn’t see any change in the girl’s expression, although she wasn’t sure that she expected to. It was just as if someone had called her name and she looked to see who before going back to her own business.

The girl next to her giggled in embarrassment, looking at the table as if they were Greek Gods themselves. “That’s Emma and Carrie Nolan, and the other two are Linda and Greg Hale. The girl that left is Hayden Nolan. They all live together somewhere in the woods with Dr. Cullen and her wife.” As she spoke it was barely over a whisper, as if she were afraid that they were listening to her speak. Alyssa found it odd, they were clear across the room, there was no way that they heard anything the girl said, and yet she couldn’t help but notice how Emma’s head twitched to the side slightly, as if she were straining to hear.

Alyssa found herself focusing on Emma, watching as she focused on her tray. She was picking a bagel to bits, but her mouth was moving quickly. Almost too quickly to be humanly possible, but Alyssa chalked it up to another trick of the light. The other three were still looking off into the distance, although Alyssa felt as though she were speaking to them. _Strange, _Alyssa thought, running through the names in her head again. They were a mix of older names and regular yet uncommon names. They felt like the kind of names that grandparents would have, although small town names differed from big city names. It was then, as she was contemplating the names of people she’d never spoken to before that she remembered her neighbor’s name. Kaylee. There had been a few different spellings of Kaylee in her History class back in Phoenix.

“They are... very nice-looking,” Alyssa offered, trying to sound inconspicuous. She knew that Kaylee could tell she found them more than just ‘nice-looking’ but there was no way she was going to be another unwelcome gaze on this table of already ostracized students.

“Yes!” Kaylee agreed, giggling, “They don’t date though, they’re all together. Carrie and Linda, and Greg and Hayden. And they all live together, It’s weird.” Her voice held the shock and condemnation of every small town’s small minded population. Alyssa knew though that back home it would have caused just as much gossip. It felt more like a storyline from a teen drama than her real life situation.

“Which ones are the Nolans?” She asked, tilting her head slightly as she tried to find similarities in any of them beyond their otherworldly beauty. “They don’t really look related,” Alyssa’s voice trailed off as she met Emma’s eyes for a split second once more. This time she thought she saw just a flash of emotion, but it and the eye contact was gone in a blink of an eye.

“Oh they’re not,” Kaylee laughed, gathering the attention of a few people sitting near them, “Dr. Nolan is older, like her forties or fifties. She never had kids of her own though. They’re all adopted. The Hales are brother and sister. Twins I think,” she paused, looking at Alyssa for a moment before her gaze was drawn back to the table of strangers, “They’re foster children.”

“They look a little old for foster children,” Alyssa mused.

“They are now, Carrie and Greg are both eighteen, but they’ve been with Dr. and Mrs. Nolan since they were like eight. Mrs. Nolan is their aunt or something,” Kaylee didn’t seem particularly interested in the semantics beyond that she found it gross that they were dating someone they live with.

“That’s really nice of them, to take care of all of those kids like that. They must’ve taken them in when they were freshly married and that could be such a hassle,” Alyssa smiled, knowing just how much a child could affect a marriage if it came too early.

“I guess so,” Kaylee admitted reluctantly, ducking her head as Alyssa started to clue in that maybe she didn’t like the doctor and her wife for one reason or another. Alyssa couldn’t quite figure out why, but the glances that Kaylee and other students threw toward the Nolans, Alyssa figured it was probably jealousy. “I don’t think that Dr. Nolan or her wife can have kids though,” Kaylee muttered, as if that were something that really affected the kindness that the family extended toward the foster children they took in.

Throughout the entire conversation, Alyssa found herself looking over the strange family, trying to see if they cracked in whatever blank stare they were attempting to give. They continued to look at walls or posters, but more look through them than concentrate on them specifically. It drove Alyssa up a wall trying to figure out what they were doing.

“Have they always lived in Forks?” She asked, eyes landing on each of them for a moment before settling on Kaylee to see how truthful the answer she was getting was. She figured if they’d always been here she would have noticed them on one of her summer trips before she stopped those in their tracks.

“No,” Kaylee scoffed, as if it were obvious knowledge to anyone who had set foot in the town before. Alyssa furrowed her brow, shooting a soft glare at Kaylee, which seemed to cue the talkative girl into realizing that Alyssa was brand new to town in a sense, and wouldn’t have all of the answers. “They just moved down from somewhere in Alaska like two years ago,” she provided, shrugging and poking at the salad left on her tray.

Alyssa felt a surge of relief, and pity for the family. Pity due to the fact that their airbrushed beauty seemed to cast them out, whether it be their doing or the students she wasn’t sure. The relief that washed over her at the knowledge of not being the only newcomer was amplified by the amount of relief she felt at not being the single most interesting person at the school. She knew that no matter how fascinating everyone might find her now, she would never hold a candle to what the Nolan family seemed to hold in this town.

As she examined the table once more, the soft one looked up at her. As their eyes met, Alyssa half expected her to drop the gaze as quickly as she had been before. Only it didn’t, the gaze held until Alyssa glanced away, not missing the curiosity in the blonde’s expression. There was something more to the girl’s gaze and as she glanced out of the corner of her eye she couldn’t help but wonder if she hadn’t met whatever expectation this strange girl had for her. Even more so, she couldn’t quite figure out why she felt disappointed that she hadn’t.

“Which one is the girl with the blonde curls? The softer looking one?” She asked, nudging Kaylee slightly to get her attention. Alyssa could still feel the girl’s gaze on her, stiffening slightly as she glanced out of the corner of her eye and saw the girl still staring, this time looking a little frustrated. She dropped her head, trying to shrink back from the blonde’s gaze. There was something in her that felt uneasy about the way this girl was looking at her in comparison to how every other student as looked at her. She could deal with the prying gaze of someone trying to get answers about who she was, but this was different. This had something deeper behind it that she wasn’t used to.

“That’s Emma, gorgeous, right? Like the rest of the family is gorgeous, but there’s something about Emma that just sucks you in. She doesn’t date though, so don’t even get your hopes up if you’re into girls. No one here is good-looking enough for her.” There was something behind Kaylee’s voice that made Alyssa wonder when Emma had turned her down. She found herself biting her lip to hide a smile and bite back a laugh. She found her eyes wandering to Emma again, seeing the girl’s head turned away but it looked like she was smiling. It was as if she listening in on their conversation, but that was entirely impossible with the distance between them.

After a few more minutes, the four remaining Nolans all stood and gracefully made their exit. It was unsettling how graceful all of them were, as if they were floating across the floor instead of walking. Emma didn’t cast another look toward Alyssa, much to both her dismay and her relief.

She stayed at the table with Kaylee and her friends longer than she’d have felt comfortable if she were sitting alone. She didn’t want to be late for class on her first day, but she also didn’t want to feel awkward leaving for class too early. Another girl at the table, Shelby, who reminded Alyssa of her name considerately, shared Alyssa’s next class with her, and offered to walk with her. The walk to class was fairly quiet, as both girls didn’t quite know what to say but it wasn’t an awkward silence. More the silence that falls between friends that just comfortably wrapped around a person. Alyssa wasn’t sure if Shelby was shy, or if she just was shy in comparison to chatterbox Kaylee.

Shelby made her way to her own lab table as they entered the classroom, leaving Alyssa to wander up to the desk and find where she was supposed to sit. She glanced around as the teacher filled out her slip, noticing that all of the black-topped tables were full aside from one. Next to the window, in the middle of the left row, was an empty seat by Emma Nolan. A chill ran through Alyssa for a moment before she made her way to the stack of books, taking one as the teacher had instructed. As she passed by the table, Emma went rigid. Their eyes met as she walked down the aisle, tripping over a book and catching herself on the table ledge. The girl on the other side of the aisle giggled, but Alyssa paid her no mind because as she lifted her head she noticed something.

Emma’s eyes were black - coal black. There was no distinction between the color of her eyes and her pupils.

Alyssa was thankful that after she grabbed the book and regained part of her dignity after her fall she was able to just take a seat. Of course, Ms. Allen assigned her the seat next to Emma, but she didn’t make her introduce herself, so Alyssa knew they would get along swimmingly. As she took the seat however, Emma leaned as far away from her as possible, covering her face as if she smelled something bad. Feeling self conscious, Alyssa discreetly sniffed her hair and shirt, trying to be sure that it wasn’t her. She smelled like lavender, her favorite scent. She figured maybe Emma just wasn’t a fan of lavender, but nonetheless she felt her face heat up with embarrassment.

The lecture of the day was on cellular anatomy, a subject that Alyssa had already been tested on back in Phoenix. It meant her mind was more free to wander, so she was sure to take diligent notes so that she didn’t find her eyes wandering to look at the blonde next to her. She couldn’t stop herself every single time, finding the strange girl in the same position each time. It was a little concerning to Alyssa how the position she was in never seemed to relax, almost unnaturally so. Emma’s sleeves were rolled up over her elbows so Alyssa could see the tendons standing out in her hand against her pale skin. Nothing about the girl’s posture relaxed during the entire lecture, and Alyssa couldn’t help but notice that despite her softer appearance she looked surprisingly hard. Up close Alyssa thought she appeared almost as angular and stone-like as her family.

This class seemed to drag on twice as long as others, and Alyssa wasn’t sure whether it was because of her lab partner, or that she knew the material already. Either way she found herself begging for the bell to ring, whether to relieve her of the anvil dangling above her head or to let it crash on her whenever the girl next to her finally relaxed she couldn’t say. Finally, as she was rethinking her previous judgements on Kaylee’s bitterness toward Emma and the rest of her family, the bell rang and much to her surprise, the blonde was the first one out of the room.

Alyssa collected her things and started to stand to leave the room when another boy that looked like a lost puppy came up to her, “Aren’t you Alyssa Greene?” His voice was innocent, as if he really wasn’t sure and Alyssa couldn’t help but humor his attentive gaze a little.

“Yes,” she gave him a smile and looked around to see if Shelby was waiting for her. She didn’t find the girl, assuming she’d already left for her next class.

“I’m Nick,” Nick gave her a bright smile, as if he was proud he was able to introduce himself. If Kevin were a golden retriever, Nick was a pitbull.

“Hi Nick,” shouldering her bag, Alyssa began trying to make her way to the front of the classroom.

“Do you need any help finding your next class? I could walk you there?”

“I’m headed to gym, but I think I can find it,” Alyssa assured him.

“That’s my next class too!” He seemed overly excited about either gym in general or sharing a class with Alyssa, but in a school the size of Forks it isn’t hard to share more than one class with someone. Either way, Alyssa let him walk her to class, letting him chatter just like she had Kaylee. She didn’t end up retaining most of the information beyond him living in California for a few years before they moved to Forks. As they entered the gym she finally latched onto a question he’d asked, “So did you stab Emma Nolan with a pencil or something? She’s never acted like that before.”

Alyssa played dumb, furrowing her brow and looking at him, “Was that the girl that I sat by in biology?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, “She looked like she was gonna be sick or in pain.”

“I don’t know,” Alyssa shrugged, “I never spoke to her. All I did was sit down.”

“She’s pretty... weird,” Nick lingered instead of heading to the locker rooms to change, “If I would’ve been sat by you I would’ve talked to you.” Alyssa forced a smile at him before walking through the girl’s locker room door. Nick was a nice boy, friendly and clearly admiring but it didn’t ease any of Alyssa’s irritation. Between the school’s reaction to her, and Emma’s even worse reaction to her, she wasn’t sure if she had entered _The Twilight Zone_ or Washington state.

Coach Hawkins found Alyssa a uniform and thus she spent the next hour and a half in her own personal hell of volleyball and terrible smack talk from teenage boys. P.E was required all four years in Forks, unlike back home where only two were. No one got terribly injured by Alyssa attempting to hit the ball, and as the final bell rang she couldn’t get out of the gym quick enough. She made her way back to the main office to turn in her first day paperwork, walking a little slower as the wind was pretty strong.

When she walked into the office she all but ran from it. There, standing at the desk was Emma Nolan. She was just as rigid as she was during Biology, although she didn’t seem to notice Alyssa’s entrance. Alyssa flattened herself against the back wall, trying not to eavesdrop but the office was small enough where almost every word still rang in her ear. She seemed to be arguing with the secretary in a low voice about switching classes and after a moment Alyssa realized which class she was trying to switch. Biology.

The door opened again and the harsh wind blew through, causing Alyssa too shiver slightly. The girl who came through simply set a note in the wire basket beside Emma and then left again, but the damage seemed to have already been done for the blonde at the counter. She turned to face Alyssa for a brief moment, offering a tight lipped smile before turning back to the receptionist and nodding slightly. “Nevermind then,” she said hastily, suddenly in a hurry to be anywhere but that room right then. “I can see that it is impossible, thank you for your help Elaine,” she turned on her heel and stormed out of the office, the door slamming shut abruptly after her.

Alyssa slid up to the desk and as Elaine looked over her, she swore that she was going to be sick. Something about the look that Emma Nolan had given her shook her to her core, but Elaine didn’t seem to notice, “How did your first day go, dear?” Her voice was friendly, clearly trying to smooth over whatever tension was left in the room.

“Fine,” Alyssa lied, knowing that it wasn’t believable. She turned in her sheets and thanked Elaine for her help before making her way back to her truck. She was nearly the last one in the lot when she made it back, climbing in and just sitting there. She felt like she needed to soak in everything that happened today, although once it was cold enough to make her shiver in the cab she started it up, heading back home to Veronica’s house. She didn’t know why, but she felt like she was fighting off tears.


End file.
